Lazard Asset Management LLC Acquires 482,846 Shares of Halliburton Company $HAL

Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Halliburton Company (NYSE:HAL) by 846.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 539,899 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock after acquiring an additional 482,846 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Halliburton were worth $21,051,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HAL. Nvest Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Halliburton during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Halliburton in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Halliburton during the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its holdings in Halliburton by 196.4% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 981 shares of the oilfield services company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strive Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Halliburton during the third quarter worth $31,000. 85.23% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Halliburton Price Performance

NYSE:HAL opened at $31.27 on Wednesday. Halliburton Company has a 52 week low of $20.39 and a 52 week high of $43.59. The firm has a market cap of $26.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $36.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.50 and a current ratio of 2.02.

Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The oilfield services company reported $0.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $5.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.50 billion. Halliburton had a net margin of 7.16% and a return on equity of 18.71%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Halliburton Company will post 2.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Halliburton Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 24th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. Halliburton’s payout ratio is presently 35.60%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Halliburton news, EVP Van H. Beckwith sold 198,349 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.29, for a total transaction of $8,189,830.21. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 146,186 shares in the company, valued at $6,036,019.94. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Tobi M. Young sold 6,125 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.72, for a total value of $255,535.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 15,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $636,230. This trade represents a 28.65% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 258,255 shares of company stock valued at $10,550,535 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Halliburton from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Freedom Capital raised shares of Halliburton from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Halliburton from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Halliburton from $41.00 to $40.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $37.00 price objective on shares of Halliburton in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Eighteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.10.

Halliburton Company Profile

Halliburton is one of the world’s largest providers of products and services to the energy industry, offering a broad portfolio that supports the lifecycle of oil and gas reservoirs from exploration and drilling through production and abandonment. Founded in 1919 by Erle P. Halliburton as an oil-well cementing company, the firm is headquartered in Houston, Texas and has developed into an integrated oilfield services company serving upstream operators globally.

The company’s activities encompass drilling and evaluation, well construction and completion, production enhancement and well intervention.